While fracking (unconventional gas drilling) was banned permanently, a moratorium was placed on onshore conventional exploration and drilling. This has been in force since 2014, has been extended once, and will expire on June 30, 2020.

Before that date, the final report from the VIC Gas Program will be released, which is expected to highlight, in broad terms, where commercially viable gas resources might exist.

The Murdoch press and fossil fuel industry hate the moratorium and are campaigning to see it overturned. Without a major community mobilisation, we have to assume the government will bow to the industry fear campaign about energy prices and job loss, and let the moratorium lapse and open up exploration license opportunities for gas companies.

There is an urgent climate imperative to transform our economy. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (2018) concludes that, by 2030, global emissions must drop by 45% from their 2010 levels if we are to avoid exposing hundreds of millions of people to serious climate-related hazards. A growing body of mainstream climate science says that we need to achieve deeper targets earlier if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change.

We are already in the middle of a largely unplanned transition in our national and local economy, partly due to the forces of economic globalisation and partly through technological changes to the energy system. Because it is unplanned, many aspects of the change are unjust. At the national level, there is already wage stagnation and an industrial relations system which works against the interests of workers. Many aging coal-fired power stations are nearing the end of their lives and the native forests sector is clearly unsustainable and on the verge of collapse. The economy is undergoing a market-driven transformation and many of these changes are bad for blue collar workers.

While fracking (unconventional gas drilling) was banned permanently, a moratorium was placed on onshore conventional exploration and drilling. This has been in force since 2014, and will expire on June 30, 2020.

We have until 2020 to build a strong voice demanding that the state government acts to protect our state by extending the onshore gas moratorium for another five years.

Walk This Way is back in 2019!

On Saturday November 9th Friends of the Earth will walk 15km along Melbourne's Capital City Trail to celebrate transformative communities.

We want you to join us!

While extractive industries are busy causing climate chaos, join us in finding the communities taking the lead in creating a safe climate future.

Beginning at CERES Community Environment Park, and journeying along Melbourne's Merri Creek Trail to hear some of Melbourne's transformative community stories, we will finish up with a community picnic at Abbotsford Convent.

Every dollar you raise will support Friends of the Earth campaigning for urgent system change in the face of the climate crisis!

Get Sponsored: Ask your friends, your family, your neighbours to donate to Friends of the Earth to sponsor you for your walk.Spread the Word: Invite others to sign up and #WalkThisWay with us - a journey is always better shared! You can join one of the Friends of the Earth teams, or set up your own!Get Walking: You can be part of the whole 15kms walk or you’ll be able to join #WalkThisWay at a number of meeting points along the trail (more information coming soon on the website!)

The corporate control of the Murray-Darling Basin is failing all communities who want sustainable livelihoods along our rivers. This disproportionately impacts our First Nations communities whose cultural rights have been ignored.

On our recent trip to Menindee, River Country spoke to some residents about their memories of the Darling/Baarka River and what needs to change so the health of this vital ecosystem can be restored. We spoke to Sabrina, a Menindee farmer and Fiula, 12 & Shontaye, 13, of Menindee.

The corporate control of the Murray-Darling Basin is failing all communities who want sustainable livelihoods along our rivers. This disproportionately impacts our First Nations communities whose cultural rights have been ignored.

On our recent trip to Menindee, River Country spoke to some residents about their memories of the Darling/Baarka River and what needs to change so the health of this vital ecosystem can be restored. Here we present the stories of Susannah, a Menindee local who has witnessed drastic changes to the river due to poor government policy, and Kirrie, Mia & LaPeta, three young girls from Menindee.

On Thursday, community members delivered a petition on behalf of 700 people calling for a stop to the $16 billion North East Link toll road.

Members of Parliament Sam Hibbins (Victorian Greens spokesperson for Transport) and Clifford Hayes (Sustainable Australia Party) accepted the petition and delivered it to decision makers.

“[The North East Link is] a lazy solution to frustrated residents in the North-East corridor that will only increase the city’s dependence on cars,” said community member Cynthia Pilli on the steps of Parliament.

Friends of the Earth acknowledge that we meet and work on the land of the Wurundjeri people and that sovereignty of the land of the Kulin Nation were never ceded. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge the pivotal role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within the Australian community.